Swakop. to Hentjies

The sea ponds

About 7km north of Swakopmund lie a number of large shallow ponds. These are mostly natural ponds used for salt production by the Salt Company. Some are filled with seawater, which is then left to evaporate, whilst others are used for farming oysters. Sometimes you'll see one coloured bright red or green by algae, or pink by a flock of feeding flamingos!

Nobody lives here, but workers from Swakopmund manage the site. Both the salt and the oysters are sold within Namibia, and most restaurants in Swakopmund will offer you both.

Wlotzkas Baken

This small settlement, about 31km north of Swakopmund, looks like a colony on the moon. Its houses spread out along the desert coast, each overshadowed by its own long-legged water tower (which rely on tankers driving the water from inland.) It was named after Paul Wlotzke, a keen Swakopmund fisherman who first built a hut here, and guided visitors to this rich area for fishing.

Like the ghost towns near Lüderitz, nobody lives here permanently. Wlotzkasbaken is simply a collection of holiday homes, used mainly by those Namibians who love sea fishing and come here for their annual summer breaks around December and January.East of here are a few apparently barren hills and boulders. Get out of the car to take a closer look, and you'll find many small plants and shrubs there. The Namib's fogs are densest (and so deliver the more moisture) at higher elevations, so even these relatively small hills catch much more water from the fog than the flat plains.

Amongst the boulders are also small land snails, beetles and small vertebrates. These include what is thought to be the world's only lizard that actually mimics an invertebrate for protection. The juveniles of the Eremias lugubris species have the same coloration and style of movement as a beetle known locally as the 'oogpister' – which protects itself like a skunk by expelling a foul-smelling liquid.

Where to stay

Mile 14 Campsite Book via the NWR in Windhoek.This is the first coastal campsite north of Swakopmund, used mainly by families in the high season on fishing trips to the coast. It is massive, stretching some 3–4km along the beach, with sites marked by wooden pegs, and ablution blocks built regularly every 100m. (Showers and water are free here.)

Expect this to be totally empty except for high summer, when you will find it busy with plenty of Namibians and South Africans. During Namibian school holidays there is even a basic shop that opens here – though this is hard to believe if you pass in the quiet season.

Jakkalsputz Campsite Book via the NWR in Windhoek.This is a few kilometres south of Henties Bay, and similar to Mile 14 – small plots of desert beside the beach, with pitches marked off as campsites.